"American Playhouse" Who Am I This Time? (1982)

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Neal Miller (writer)
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (story)

TV Series:

"American Playhouse" (1982)

Original Air Date:

2 February 1982

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Plot:

From a short story by Kurt Vonnegut. Christopher Walken is a shy hardware store employee. But whenever...

Plot Keywords:

Telephone Company | Audition | Hardware Store | Actor | Oscar Wilde

Cast

Susan Sarandon	...	Helene Shaw
Christopher Walken	...	Harry Nash
Robert Ridgely	...	George Johnson
Dorothy Patterson	...	Doris
Caitlin Hart	...	Lydia
Les Podewell	...	Les
Aaron Freeman	...	Andrew
Jerry Vile	...	Albert
Paula Frances	...	Minnie
Mike Bacarella	...	Stage Manager
Ron Parady	...	Vern
Debbi Hopkins	...	Christie
Maria Todd	...	Heather
Sandy McLeod	...	Flirt #1
Edie Vonnegut	...	Flirt #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Natalie Stewart Mills	...	Melinda (uncredited)

Directed by
Jonathan Demme

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Neal Miller		writer (as Morton Neal Miller)
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.		story

Produced by
Neal Miller	....	producer (as Morton Neal Miller)

Original Music by
John Cale

Cinematography by
Paul Vombrack

Film Editing by
Marc Leif

Makeup Department
Kathe Swanson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
James A. Dennett	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bob Dahlin	....	first assistant director
Katterli Frauenfelder	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Dale R. Janus	....	boom operator (as Dale Janus)
Kurt Kreutz	....	sound mixer
Paul Odda	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Greg Green	....	second assistant camera
Wilbur Hopp	....	grip
Peter Kuttner	....	first assistant camera
Mel P. Mack	....	best boy (as Mel Mack)
Jim Miller	....	gaffer
John Miller	....	electrician
Joe Tomko Jr.	....	key grip (as Joe Tomko)

Casting Department
Anne Clark	....	casting
Irma Puckett	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Emily Erickson	....	wardrobe

Other crew
Billy Higgins	....	location manager
Harriet Kehl	....	script supervisor
Sharon Zurek	....	production secretary

Directed by
Perry Rosemond		(1985)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Phil Kellard		writer (episode "Take The Hatred Away")

Produced by
Dave Davis	....	executive producer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Thomas Herod Jr.	....	first assistant director (episode "Land of Little Rain" (1989), The")

Music Department
Michael Small	....	composer: theme music

Production Companies

• Rubicon Film Productions Ltd.

Distributors

• Divisa Home Video (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Runtime:

55 min | Argentina:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Evanston, Illinois, USA

Company:

Rubicon Film Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

The quotations recited by the actors in the various plays, from "Cyrano" to "A Streetcar named Desire" to "The Importance of Being Earnest", are often paraphrased. In the opening act, we watch Harry Nash deliver the final lines of "Cyrano," which were taken not from the well-known translations of the standard texts, but from the film adaptation Cyrano de Bergerac (1950) with translation by Brian Hooker. Edmond Rostand's final two words in the original French were "My panache!" which is usually used in translations. Hooker's version changes it to "My white plume!" Another slight variation occurs in the final lines, when Helene accepts Harry's proposal of marriage and says, "I hope that after we marry, you'll always look at me just like this... especially in front of other people!" In the original play by Oscar Wilde, the line is "I hope you will always look at me just like that, especially when there are other people present."

Quotes:

[after trying to audition, Helene leaves the room, sobs, and then returns]
Helene Shaw: I'm terrible, aren't I?
George Johnson: No! No, you're not, you're fine.
Helene Shaw: [attempting a laugh] No, I'm not. It was awful. I...
George Johnson: You were...
Helene Shaw: - It's like I'm a walking ice-box or something.
Doris: Oh, nobody could look at you and say that, dearie.
Helene Shaw: When people get to know me, that's when they *do* say it. I don't want to be the way that I am. I just can't help it. I feel like I'm in... Well, when I get to know somebody nice, you know, like, like in real life? I feel like I'm in... Like I'm...
[She lifts her hands and mimes being trapped in glass]
Helene Shaw: ...in some, some kind of, um, a bottle, a-a-as though I can't touch that person, no matter how hard I try. I know what this play is about. I know what's Stella's feeling, I -
[...]

Walken and Sarandon are Excellent

Walken gives a funny, sweet performance as a community theater acting dynamo and heart-throb -- who's so shy he can't hold a conversation unless it's scripted.

Sarandon is also very good as the woman who falls in love with him and attempts to bring him out of his off-stage shell.

To be honest, though, this TV movie suffers a bit from very cheap production values, occasionally weak direction, and mediocre performances by much of the rest of the cast -- even apart from their purposely amateurish play-within-a-play acting.

In addition, it's one of the few movies I've seen that's actually too short. It would have benefited from at least one more off-stage scene further developing Walken's and Sarandon's characters.

Still, I like it a lot and highly recommend it.